Genesis
by The Nightstress
Summary: SMT: Devil Survivor. Main NaoyaMC. Shounen Ai. "Peaceful days are over. Let's Survive."
1. Before it all

Hey, Nightstress here. This is the second fanfic that i actaully typed o.o go me... seeing that i'm so lazy and slow with typing i'm very surprised i got this chapter typed in fast. Well :D;; this is basically gonna be like a re-write of the Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor game. Seeing that there is no offical name for the MC yet i have dubbed him **Noh Takaya** in my game. Before you say anything about P3 his last name was not intentional. At first it was Takayama but the game only let's you have 6 letters .;;; and i didn't really notice until like near the end of the 'day before; on the game ^ ^;; so it just stuck. *hopes that the name will spread :D;;;; kinda knows that that hope will fail* Anyways...seeing that this is the day before so nothing really happens... and it might be on the boring side a tad but i'm gonna make the 2nd chapter better seeing that there is not much i can do atm with this day. The pairing is Naoya x Noh with maybe some hints of Atsuro x Noh and Gin x Noh on the side? And lots of Demon Love :D;; Okay enough ranting you may read now. Oh and excuse my simple typing ^ ^;;; i was tired. Sorry for mistakes ._.

Disclaimer: SMT Devil Survivor does not belong to me.

**Chapter 1 – Before it all**

Noh nodded dazedly to whatever Yuzu was saying as they walked around waiting for Atsuro's call. He was really looking forward to meeting Naoya today, seeing for the past few weeks he seemed to be too busy to visit him. They ended up at Omotesando looking at some of the clothes in the window displays.

"Speaking of Aoyama…Hey, Noh…What time is t right now?" Yuzu asked. Noh snapped out of his daze to check his cell.

"It's 16:30." His mind suddenly remembered the email on the COMP.

"16:30, ugh… I was just thinking about that email in the COMP…" She shivered a bit remembering it.

"You know, the one about someone being attacked by a 'carnivorous beast'…"

Noh seemed to pale for a moment.

"Naoya lives over at Aoyama…maybe we should check over there just in case?" He suggested worriedly.

At the same moment, several police cars zoomed down the street, sirens wailing.

"Those police cars…They're heading towards Aoyama…"

Noh bit his lip getting a bad feeling from this.

"Ah…ahaha! There's no way that's email was true…but yeah maybe we should go check it out?"

"Let's go, then."

They ran over to the residential area in Aoyama as fast as they could. Looking they saw the police we're going to the building Naoya lives in. The police roped up the scene and a crowd of onlookers gathered around.

Naoya seemed to have just come and walked over to Noh and Yuzu.

Noh unconsciously let out a relieved sigh and hugged Naoya. Naoya was used to the normal greeting and loosely hugged back.

"Naoya…!?" Yuzu looked at him in surprise.

"…I'm surprised to see you, Noh. What are you here?" He asked smoothly while giving Noh a little pet on the head to release him.

"We were worried!"

Yuzu decided to step up too.

"Th-That's right! We thought something might have happened to you, Naoya!"

Naoya simply looked back at his apartment.

"…Oh, you mean the incident in the building."

"Of course that's what we mean! What's going on, anyways!? That weird email you made us read made us all jumpy!"

Looking back at Noh, Naoya gave his usual smirk.

"I see…You're right…Sorry about that. I didn't mean to frighten you. The person who was eaten was a student, like yourselves. He lived next door to me…"

"He was eaten…? No way! Is what that email said really true!? But, we got the email before the incident happened, so…Noh, what does this all mean!?" Yuzu exclaimed in shock.

Noh looked at Naoya suspiciously before answering. Something was up but he stayed calm. He definitely knew Naoya wasn't the murder so that means…

"It's telling the future."

"…You're thought process never ceases to amaze me. Usually, one would suspect that the one who sent the email carried out the murder. No wonder you're my cousin…"

Naoya placed a hand on Noh's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"I understand why the two of you came here, Noh. But, our meeting here is an accident. We shouldn't be talking like this. Hurry and find Atsuro immediately. It's going to being soon…"

Yuzu was still confused.

"Begin…!? What are you talking about?"

He looked away having no intention of answering any more questions.

"…There isn't much time left. Listen carefully to me, both of you. Do not turn away from what is about to happen now. Do not be afraid to stand up against it. That is when the door of truth will open… Over come your fate."

He leaned over and whispered into Noh's ear softly.

"I'll email you later so don't worry."

Naoya quickly walked away. Yuzu was not very happy about that.

"Oh…! W-Wait a second! …He's gone."

She and Noh both looked at the direction he walked off to.

"Something…didn't seem right with him, huh? I wonder what's wrong."

Noh's cell phone rings jolting them both from their thoughts. The caller ID says "Atsuro".

"Ello." Noh causally answered.

"Yo! I figured out how to crack the encryption on those COMPs! I need yours so I can unlock them. Meet me in front of the Electric Museum in Shibuya!" Atsuro explained before hanging up.

"Um…Why don't we meet up with Atsuro? I'm all confused from everything that's happened so suddenly…Maybe Atsuro's figured something out on his end!"

* * *

The Electric Museum is north of Shibuya along the Yamanote line, east of Miyashita Park.

Atsuro walked over to Yuzu and Noh waving.

"Yo, what took you guys so long? How far away did you go when you were killing time?"

"We went to Naoya's place." Noh answered.

"Huh!? You guys went to see Naoya?"

"Oh, yeah. Well…" Yuzu began telling Atsuro about what happened in Aoyama. She also mentioned how what happened matched the email you received, and what Naoya said.

"Wait, what? Are you saying that the email actually came true?" Atsuro seemed to be in a bit of disbelief.

"Hmm…Anyways, if you ran into Naoya, why didn't you call me? I had some stuff to ask him."

Yuzu looked down.

"Sorry. So much was going on that we kind of forgot you."

"Oh, well. That's okay. Bringing it up now isn't gonna change anything."

Atsuro gave a smile trying to lighten the mood.

"So, what's going on? Is what was written in that email actually coming true…? C'mon…There's no way an email can predict the future. Are you sure you didn't just fall for one of Naoya's pranks?"

Noh just gave Atsuro a blank look.

"Would he really do that?"

"When you put it that way…Well, Naoya's human, too. He must have a sense of humor." He simply laughed off.

"But someone really did get killed! The police were there!" Yuzu seriously reminded.

"I can't believe they'd be part of his joke!"

"Hmm…If Naoya was telling the truth, that email wasn't a warning, right? Unless someone really did predict the future, it's probably just a coincidence."

"There's more in the email." Noh pointed out.

"What do you mean? Oh yeah, it mentioned an explosion and a blackout, too. If it really was predicting the future…It would be odd if those don't happen. Still, they seem pretty unlikely."

"What…? But…" Yuzu looked unsure.

"Who cares, anyway? Once I crack these COMPS and look inside, it'll all make sense."

"Hrmm…I'm still not convinced, but tell us what you've figured out for now." She perked up a bit.

"You did figure something out, right, Atsuro?"

"Yeah, well…I was completely fooled. I think Naoya knew I'd try to get inside one myself. It seems these three COMPs are always monitoring each other, so I can't crack one alone."

Atsuro had this glow in his eye as he continued to explain.

"See, the COMPs are constantly transmitting certain signals to each other. Without that input, several parameters are set in such a way that makes it impossible—"

Yuzu flinched away from the knowledge being rushed at her.

"Argh, my head…Enough with the explanation, just hurry up and do it!"

"Man, you never change… Anyway, I'm gonna unlock the systems, okay? Turn your COMPs on, you guys!"

While waiting for Atsuro to finish, Noh looked up and saw someone who looked like Naoya. Although Shibuya is a popular area, the street is empty and he seems to stand out. His handsome face is expressionless, but gives off a cold feeling.

"Okay, done! I'm restarting the COMPs!"

Atsuro's voice broke Noh out of his trace and made him look back.

'_Decryption confirmed. Booting program.'_

The screen flashed as a bunch of codes ran on the screen.

'…_Condition green. DEMON SUMMONING PROGRAM ready to boot. Booting DEMON SUMMONING PROGRAM.'_

'Peaceful days are over. Let's Survive.'

Suddenly monsters broke out from the COMPs. All three of the teens quickly backed away from them.

"Wh-Whoa! Monsters came out of the COMPS…!?" Atsuro looked at this in shock. Yuzu was fairing no better.

"Aaaah! Wh-What is this!?"

The pixie looked around looking relieved.

"Ahhh! I thought I was going to suffocate in there…! So this is the human world? Hmm. Then these humans must be the ones who summoned me."

The pixie gave an evil smile at them.

"We will fight, than! If I win, I will have my freedom! Let's go!"

It danced around happily before pointing at them.

"Hehehe! Get ready! I'm not gonna let you guys go! You have to die so I can go free! Hehehe!"

It floated over the Yuzu and began to attack.

"Aaahh! Don't come any closer!" In panic Yuzu soccer punted it.

"Hey! Don't hit me back!" The pixie angrily growled while continuing to attack.

"…Hellllp! …Noh! …Atsuro!"

"Yuzu! Damn it… We're coming!"

Yuzu was currently back handing the pixie, which looked to be struggling some.

"W-Wow! You're pretty tough… For a human, anyway!"

The Kabuso looked over at Atsuro hungrily.

"Gyarrrr! Humans are tasty demon food!"

"Whoa! What are you!?" Atsuro yelled before the demon charged at him. Atsuro brought up his fists in defense and began to attack. The Kabuso flinched back after being him a few times.

"Gyaaaarh! Why do the human's attacks hurt!? Nobody said anything about this…"

Atsuro looked surprised himself.

"Wh-What the!? That should've hurt me way more than it did!"

"This is weird. Humans are supposed to be soft and chewy! Not hard!"

The Kobold looked over that Noh and gave a feral grin.

"FIGHT ME, HUMANS! ME…WIN!"

Atsuro seeing this shouted over to Noh.

"Be careful, Noh! You've got to get them before they get you! You have to fight!"

Noh nodded while getting into a fighting position. Noh dodged out of the demon's attacks and responded back with sharp punches.

"GRYAAAH! YOU STRONG! THIS…FUN! FIGHT SOME MORE!" The Kobold howled in delight.

"Th-The attack worked! Our attacks work on these guys!" Atsuro then looked at the COMP.

"……! Is it because of the COMPs!?"

The 3 continued to attack their respective demons. Noh was the first to finish.

"ME LOSE. IF ME DEFEATED BY ONE WHO SUMMONS ME, BECOME MASTER. THIS CALLED CONTRACT. …ONLY HEARD OF THEM…"

It smiled like a happy puppy at Noh.

"ME KOBOLD, DEMON OF WAR. TO MEET YOU, NICE!" It licked Noh on the face before disappearing. He quickly rubbed his face to get rid of the slobber. He did not like doggy kisses.

"…Yes! We can win, you guys! We can't die here!" Atsuro exclaimed with more confidence and quickly defeated his demon.

"Gyahh! I'm surprised I could actually be defeated! Gahh…I've heard that if I lose, I become your servant. Oh well…I'm the monster, Kabuso. Pleased to meet you…" It turned it's gaze at Noh and waved at him lazily before disappearing.

Yuzu then finished the pixie.

"…Ugh! I can't believe I lost…to a human! But I'll abide by the contract. I HAVE to lend you my powers. I'm the fairy, Pixie. Don't you DARE waste me!" It declared arrogantly before grinning at Noh.

"See ya later cutie!" It quickly floated to Noh and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Yuzu just stared at it in shock as it disappeared giggling.

"Why that little--!" She glared at the space it once was.

"Well…I'm still alive…We're all still alive! Aaaaah, that was so scary!"

Noh looked at the two and noticed there was a number floating above their heads. Still a little freaked out he waited for the group to cool.

"What's going on? What was that!? Atsuro, what did you do!? AND I CAN'T BELIEVE IT KISSED NOH!!"

"I don't know, either! I just undid the encryption! The program activated itself!"

"Then…The COMP is what made this happen just now? That doesn't make any sense! That's just impossible!"

Yuzu grabbed her COMP with a serious face.

"Let's go to the police! We can't hold onto something this dangerous!"

Noh thinking this over in his head thought that wasn't the best idea to do.

"We should check them out." He replied calmly.

"Check them out!? What more is there to see!? I mean that Pixie might rape you or something!"

Atsuro sweatdropped but kept a serious face.

"Calm down, Yoohoo. I think Noh's right."

Yuzu gaped at him.

"Huh!? What are you saying!? What'll we do if demons come out of these things again!?"

Atsuro began to lose his patience seeing that this was no time to be panicking. Noh just watched the two hoping that they will calm down.

"Will you settle down a little!? I know why you're freaking out! I was there too, you know? But even after what just happened, is it right to throw everything out immediately? We don't even know if that's the safest thing to do at this point."

Noh then remembered Naoya's words from earlier.

"Naoya said to keep them."

Yuzu groaned.

"Ugh… He did say that we would need them…"

"I'm going to take a deeper look into these COMPs, okay?" Atsuro tried to lighten the atmosphere.

"Y-Yeah, okay. But if something comes out, we're making a run for it! I've had it with this!"

Atsuro connects the COMP to his laptop and begins examining the files.

"Ah…I get it. So that's why…" He mumbled.

"What, did you figure something out?" Yuzu asked expectedly.

"Yeah. First, this process is named the Demon Summoning Program."

"Demon!? You mean, like…from books and myths and all that stuff!?" She slightly raised her voice.

"How should I know? I can't wrap my head around how a computer can summon them…"

"Rituals can summon them." Noh stated matter of factly.

"Rituals… You mean like in fantasy manga? I suppose it's possible to convert the spells and procedures to programs, but… Anyways, the other function I found in this COMP is named the 'Harmonizer'."

Noh just cutely looked at him tilting his head.

"So…it harmonizes?"

Atsuro smiled a bit.

"I suppose so. The word 'harmonize' means to match, or adjust. It's similar to the summoning program, and I have no idea what principles are behind it. But it seems to match some wavelength so that our attacks work on demons. And, likewise, it attunes their attacks to lessen the damage we take from them."

Yuzu sighed at the knowledge Atsuro was spouting.

"I'm totally lost… I don't get any of this! What is Naoya trying to do!? Summoning demons, protecting us from them… What does he want us to do!?"

"Maybe we fight demons?" Noh suggested.

Yuzu was getting frustrated from all this.

"But why!? Are we supposed to bring about world peace or something?"

Atsuro seemed to notice something.

"Huh…? Wait a sec… That's it!"

"What? Don't tell me it's really for world peace…"

"No, it's not that. Do you guys remember that email?"

"The one with those predictions? Y-Yeah…"

"I thought about how the COMP's functions would work in conjunction with it…Take this, for example…The death in Aoyama was blamed on an animal attack, right?"

Yuzu slightly paled at remembering.

"Huh…? Yeah…"

"What if it wasn't an animal…but a demon, like the ones that appeared earlier?"

Yuzu looked at Atsuro with widen eyes.

"…! Wh-What are you saying!? If you're trying to scare us, knock it off!"

"I'm not trying to scare you. I want to sort this thing out."

Noh moved in closer to Atsuro so he could hear what he was saying better.

"Okay, to start out…If the email delivered to our COMPs really did predict that…Then we would have known when and where the attack was due to occur before it happened. So, if we wanted to, we could've been there at that moment. In addition, the COMPs are modified to summon demons and fight against them. So, what conclusions can we draw from this?"

"We could prevent them?" Noh came up with.

"Yeah…That's what I think, too."

Yuzu came back into the conversation confused.

"Huh…!?"

"There's been a lot of weird stuff in the city recently. The internet's full of rumors. There have always been strange things happening, but there have been a lot of them lately. What if they were all ignored by the public…but they were actually caused by demons? And what if we can use these COMPs to fight those demons?"

Yuzu grasped he head in disbelief.

"Then…are you saying these COMPs were made to fight the demons who are doing all this!?"

Atsuro just nodded his head.

"Yeah…That is, if demons are really the cause of these things."

"I'm so not doing that! Why don't we just give these back to Naoya or somebody else?"

Noh sighed but understood Yuzu…However.

"You don't believe Naoya?"

Yuzu looked a bit guilty.

"No, that's not what I mean, but…"

"Naoya's really good at planning things in advance. I don't know why he chose us to have these, but there must be a good reason behind it. I mean, I don't want to have to fight monsters like that again, either…But…if we get attacked by demons like the other victims, I can't give this COMP up…Without them, we're just normal people. We don't stand a chance against demons!"

Yuzu looked away a bit, still not wanting to do this.

"If…If you're right, Atsuro, and this weird stuff is being caused by demons…And even if these COMPs were made to fight those demons…Then, why us!? The police should be the ones dealing with this stuff!"

Atsuro wanted to face palm himself at the moment.

"We can give them to the police, but if we do, we'll never get them back. That said, do you think we can really protect ourselves without them, Yoohoo?"

Yuzu looked down. It was obvious from her expression that she wanted nothing to do with this.

"I'm sick of all this…Why is this happening…?"

Noh began staring at the numbers above their heads and was currently fixated on Yuzu's just wondering what it means.

"…? What's wrong, Noh? Why are you staring above my head? Is something there?"

"…There's a number there."

Noh explained that ever since the battle, he has seen numbers above people's heads. Most people walking by have a 7, but the three of you have a 1.

Yuzu gave Noh an odd look.

"A number over our heads? What are you talking about?"

Atsuro gave a confused stare at Noh too.

"I don't see anything, but you look serious…What's going on? Man…Is that because of the COMP, too? We know so little about all this…I feel like my head's about to blow up!"

"Hey, why don't we go back to Naoya's place, after all?" Yuzu tried. "All this about the COMP, the email, and everything else…We really need him to tell us."

Noh thought for a second.

"Will he even be there?"

Yuzu shrugged.

"It's better than sitting around here. C'mon, Noh. Let's try to see him."

Atsuro nodded and gathered his stuff.

"Yeah…I need to talk to Naoya, too. Let's go to Aoyama, Noh!"

* * *

Back at the Aoyama residential area it seems the police are still investigating. The police barriers were also still up.

Atsuro looked around but saw no way of entrance.

"Man…We'll never get near Naoya's room like this…"

Yuzu glanced around too and noticed something.

"Hey! Over there!" Yuzu points towards a mailbox filled with newspapers.

"Hmm…Isn't that Naoya's mailbox?" Atsuro pointed. Noh now knew why he didn't visit him for a while.

"We were lucky to see him."

Atsuro looked down.

"I suppose so. It looks like he hasn't been to his apartment for quite a while…"

Suddenly, all three of their COMPs' email alerts went off. Opening the COMP, Noh saw that the sender was from Naoya. It congratulated them at using the COMPs which they will need to survive and to go to Aoyama Cemetery to meet someone. There was also system mail saying that they have become demon tamers and explaining a few things along that there will be a tutorial. Yuzu was the first to respond.

"What… Who's writing these? Can he hear what we're saying or something? This is crazy!"

"Haha… Naoya's insight is his greatest strength. He's a genius when it comes to knowing what people are going to do next." Atsuro took a shallow breath before continuing.

"Anyway… Did you guys read the other email?"

Noh looked back at it.

"'Demon tamer,' huh?"

"Yeah, I wanted to point that out. Remember what those demons said during the battle? About submitting to us, contracts, lending their power… Sounds familiar?"

Yuzu began shaking her head.

"Wait a sec! Gah… I can't keep up with all this! It's all so unreal…! Um, so, basically… The demons we fought can now be summoned from the COMPs? And they'll be our allies?"

"Yeah, but I can't say for sure until we actually try it out… After we got that email, something called 'Teams' got added to the COMP menu. Maybe this is why Naoya entrusted us with these COMPs."

"Geez!" Yuzu said annoyed. "If that's what he wanted all along, he could have just told us!"

"Haha, yeah, I think so too. Sometimes he's so smart I can't understand him… In any case, the email from Naoya… It said to go to Aoyama Cemetery, right? It mentioned someone 'who will influence our actions,' but…who could that be?"

Yuzu just shrugged looking a bit worried.

"Sounds like someone we're destined to meet…Do you think it'll be human?"

"Who knows…? Considering all that's happened, anyone would be suspicious…"

Noh just stared at the two.

"It did say 'person'…" He reminded hoping that it would lighten them up some.

"Yeah, you're right. It does say 'person,' after all. This is Naoya. He would have said 'monster' or 'someone' if he meant otherwise."

Yuzu gave up.

"…Fine. I'd rather ask Naoya about this than sit around feeling scared and stupid! Well… I guess I've got no choice! If you two are going, I'm coming too! Let's go!"

Yuzu started off towards the cemetery leaving the boys behind her. Atsuro walked up to Noh and began to speak after Yuzu was out of hearing range.

"I didn't want to say anything because Yuzu was getting all emotional… But, I found something in the COMPs' functions. Let me explain it to you."

Noh silently nodded as they both walked to follow after Yuzu.

"The function called Skill Set looks like it'll let us use powers like magic spells, too. If we have to fight demons again, it'll help if we set our COMPs to let us use them. It looks like you choose the Team Setup option to distribute points to us."

Noh looked down at his COMP with a curious look before checking the Team menu. He currently had a skill on called Agi.

'Good thing it gives a description…a fire skill…'

He proceeded to look down the empty skill lists and saw nothing. He saw the a icon with the Demon he fought earlier and set it next to him on the empty space figuring that it was now on his team. Looking down at Team 2 which had Atsuro's picture in the middle icon, he saw that he was also setting up his team and skills.

Yuzu finally noticed that the boys were far behind, ran back a bit and shouted.

"Would you too hurry it up!"

Atsuro gave an embarrassed grin.

"Yeah! We're coming!"

"Here we are… So, who would be at a place like this?" Atsuro wondering while glancing around. Noh just stood there looking at the dark sky now noticing how late it was becoming. Yuzu shivered as she hugged herself, looking a little spooked.

"Don't tell me it's a ghost… I feel like there's something out there… All those graves!"

"Hang on a second…Aoyama Cemetery…That rings a bell…" Atsuro said worriedly. Noh snapped his head back to look at him.

"The email!"

Yuzu looked at him odd.

"Huh…!?"

Suddenly an explosion set off causing Yuzu to scream. Atsuro and Noh looked at the direction of the explosion tensely.

"W-Was that an explosion!? It sounded like it came from the other side of this forest!" Yuzu panicked.

"An explosion in Aoyama Cemetery around 19:00… It's just like what the email said!" Atsuro looked at Noh who had narrowed his eyes at something in the distance.

"Look! Something's coming…!" Yuzu was officially freaking out.

Across from them on the other side of the Cemetery stood a large horned demon.

"Tch…That woman! I never knew humans could have such power!" The demon scowled. A strange man in a orange cloak came out from the side of the Cemetery going near the demon.

"Wendigo! Wait…!" He pleaded. Wendigo just laughed at him.

"Gwahaha! Fools! You're nothing like that woman! Do you really think you puny things can stop me!?"

Wendigo raised one of its huge claws and brought it down on the man leaving him in a pool of blood.

"Ugh…Lady Amane…I'm so sorry…"

Atsuro and Noh paled while Yuzu screamed at the site. Wendigo then notices them from the other side before growling at them.

"Hmm? You humans are pests! Kill one, and another takes its place! I'll kill you all!" Before it could take more steps toward them a girl come from behind him. She also wore an orange cloak. Her hair was short and a light purple with a giant white-light blue seemingly flower ornament on her head. Her expression remanded calmed.

"I've found you, Wendigo. I won't let you get away this time."

Wendigo certainly looked displeased at the girl entrance.

"Grah…! So the wench thinks she can catch up to me!"

"Hey! You guys need to run away! It's dangerous here!" Atsuro said to girl over there. Yuzu was scared and terribly wanted to get away.

"Forget them, Atsuro! We need to run before we die too!" She went to go to the exit but a bunch of demons showed up blocking the paths around the Cementery.

"Wh-What the!? How many demons are there!?" Atsuro looked around just to see how many there was.

Noh looked too but saw no way unblocked.

"Looks like we have to fight."

Atsuro looked pretty pumped.

"Argh! I am SO gonna get you!" He was ready to take out some of his pent up anger.

The girl looked at them.

"Hey, you guys! It's too dangerous here! Run!"

Atsuro seemed to scoff.

"Yeah right! That's not really an option right now!" Atsuro and Noh pulled out their COMPs with Yuzu following their lead.

'Those are COMPs…Why do they have them…?'

"H-Hey! Say something!"

"…I guess I have no choice. I'll cooperate with you. But Wendigo is far too powerful a foe for you right now…Leave him to me! I will follow your orders. Direct me as you please."

Noh's COMP screen lit up.

'The priestess joined your party!'

He just looked back at the demons worrying about it later. The trios COMPs all began the tutorial.

_'The COMP has activated the Harmonizer for battle mode. Functions will be limited.'_

"Hey! The COMP's saying something! …This must be the tutorial that email mentioned!" Atsuro pointed out. Yuzu also looked at her COMP.

"They showed up when were fighting too! I guess some functions won't be usable…"

"Hey, Noh! Are there any functions you can't use on your COMP anymore!?"

Noh looked above Atsuro's and Yuzu's head.

"The floating numbers vanished."

Atsuro scrunched up his face in concentration.

"……!? It must be those numbers they talked about at the Electric Museum! I'm confused! …Oh wait! It looks like there's more to the tutorial!"

_'Each demon race has special skills called Race Skills. There are two kinds: -Automatic Activation Skills –Command Activation Skills. Use the Race Skills to gain the upper hand in battle. You can view the Race Skill's effect with the HELP menu.'_

"So I've gotta use these demon's skills, eh? Well, whatever it takes to survive!"

Yuzu still looked unsure.

"I… guess we have no choice. I'm glad we have demons on our side and all, but still…"

Noh just looked at the two before going to attack the nearest demon. Looked like the COMP has more tutorials. As much as Noh found them helpful…why couldn't they tell them before a combat situation?

_'A team consists of three units: You, the summoner, and two contracted demons. Be cautious of the following: -The leader is in the middle – If the leader is defeated, the whole team is destroyed. – So long as the minions live, the leader takes less damage. – If you defeat a leader first, the EXP and Macca of the remaining monsters is halved. It is to your advantage to kill the minions flanking their leader.'_

Noh again wondered why they don't tell them this beforehand. Kobold appeared next to him happy.

"ME READY FIGHT FOR MASTER!" Came Kobold's happy replay as he and Noh quickly took down one of the demons.

Noh watched as the defeated Demon disappeared.

'I guess defeating demons summoned by others does not enter them into a contract…oh well'

Atsuro and Yuzu looked at Noh in awe before going ahead and attacking too. More tutorials popped up on the COMP.

_'Have you noticed when the words EXTRA TURN appear? Those with EXTRA TURN displayed are at an advantage, and will receive more turns. This is how EXTRA TURN works. –Higher speed grants higher chances of getting EXTRA TURN. – The attacking side gets the more often than the defenders. Your actions during battle may also give you EXTRA TURN or cancel your opponent's: -Exploit a foe's weakness. –Land a critical attack. Use these tactics to increase your chances of getting or cancelling a foe's EXTRA TURN. A miss, or an attack that is resisted, absorbed, or reflected may aid your foe. Pay close attention to your foe's status on the COMP's top screen to avoid this.'_

Yuzu read the tutorial intently.

"So to make their extra turns disappear and get them for ourselves…we've gotta hit 'em where it hurts or land a critical attack!" Yuzu summoned her Pixie who waved excitedly at Noh.

"Hey there cutie!" She blew a kiss over at Noh who kept a straight face but waved back. Yuzu yanked the demons ear in a bit of anger.

"Pay attention! We're supposed to be fighting."

The pixie pouted.

"Fine. Fine. Whatever girly." Pixie promptly casted a Zio skill and the two resumed fighting.

Atsuro and Noh shook their heads at the scene. Noh looked back the Wendigo to see that the Priestess was already taking care of it.

"Wendigo! Go back from wince thee came!" She said while pulling out a COMP.

"Am I seeing things, or is she holding a…COMP?" Atsuro wondered but continued to fight with Kabuso by his side.

The priestess casted Maragi Wendigo who backed away after being burned.

"Ghhh… Humans…! I've learned your smells! This is far from over!" It quickly teleported away from the site. The priestess already started to move after it.

"I can't just let him go! I can catch him if I go now. Please excuse me." She hurriedly said as she left.

They all nodded and finished off the rest of the demons.

* * *

Atsuro gasped after they finished.

"We made it through, somehow… I'm still shaking…"

Yuzu was trying to convince herself.

"Th-There's nothing we can do about it… What we just went through… A…A person was killed…"

She turned her head over at Atsuro.

"Hey, the animal that attacked that person in the apartment… It was a demon, wasn't it?"

Noh looked up into the night sky.

"Probably…"

Yuzu shivered and turned away.

"Yeah, that's what I thought…"

"Demons, huh…? Looks like we're prepared for the worst… In any case, I never thought that Shomonkai would be fighting against demons… They were using COMPs, too, and the demons didn't really scare them. That explosion must've been caused when they were fighting earlier."

Atsuro unconsciously balled his fist.

"They knew about the demons was before we got out COMPs!"

"That means… The demons have been around for a long time, right…? What are the Shomonkai…?"

Noh could only shake his head.

"I don't know."

Atsuro also shook his head.

"Yeah… we really don't know anything here… Anyways…There's no doubt that that Shomonkai girl had amazing powers. That big demon, Wendigo, seemed to be afraid of her, too… Could she be the person mentioned in that email from Naoya?"

Noh thought for a second.

"She might be the one."

Yuzu just sighed.

"I wonder, too. She seemed really strong, and I got this feeling from her…"

Atsuro clenched his head with one hand.

"The emails, the demons, and now the Shomonkai… Damn it! Too much to think about! All we can do now is pray that nothing more happens today…"

As soon as those words left his lips all the lights around them shut off.

"What the--? The streetlights went out!"

Yuzu covered herself.

"What's going on!?"

Noh tried to reassuringly pat her on the back.

"The email came true." He answered solemnly. Atsuro looked puzzled for a second.

"The email…? O-Oh, yeah! That's it!"

"What's wrong, Atsuro?" Yuzu looked at him warily.

"…Noh's right. It's a blackout! Remember what was in that first email? It said there'd be a blackout!"

He looked down processing what's going on in his head.

"Is this for real…? We don't know if it's city-wide, but so far it's all coming true…"

Yuzu quickly checked her phone to see that it had no service.

"No way! I can't use my phone!"

"Huh…? Why not? How can you not have reception in a place like this?" Atsuro looked at it oddly.

"Is this because of the blackout?"

"But the phone centers have their own backup power, right? This doesn't make sense!"

"I don't know! I just can't use my phone!"

Atsuro sighed.

"I hope it's only temporary… I'm really tired."

Yuzu tried to look around.

"It's pitch-black… I never thought Tokyo would be so dark at night… Hey, what are we going to do now…?"

Before Atsuro could think he heard some shuffling nearby.

"Wait…! Someone's coming!"

The priestess from earlier walked over to them.

"So you are all safe. It's as I thought… You're demon tamers, as well."

"…! Aren't you that girl from a little while ago…!?"

"I am Amane Kuzuryu, maiden of the Shomonkai. It's nice to meet you…"

Atsuro gave a little smile.

"R-Right. I'm Atsuro Kihara, and she's Yuzu Tanikawa." Atsuro introduced himself and pointed at Yuzu.

"It's a pleasure. Oh, and you are…?" She looked at Noh.

"I'm Noh Takaya."

"Kihara, Tanikawa, and…Takaya. I shall remember your names. The Wendigo seems to have released his minions into this cemetery. I have set a simple barrier around this place tonight. It's best if you stayed here."

Yuzu looked up scared.

"M-Minions? You mean, demons!? You said we should stay, but…this is a cemetery!"

Amane simply stared at Yuzu her face as stoic as ever.

"It's better than dying. Wait here until dawn, then head for the station. Now, I must go."

She walked away but Atsuro tried to speak again.

"Hey! W-Wait! …what's going on!?"

Yuzu did not like the idea of staying in the Cemetery.

"She said to stay here until the sun came up… Wh-What should we do…?"

Seeing that there was a barrier to protect them from the demons around at the moment here, Noh didn't think leaving would be best.

"Let's follow her advice."

Atsuro even though not liking to stay here either nodded in agreement.

"We don't have a choice. If she's right, then it's too dangerous to go anywhere now…"

Yuzu shut her eyes.

"B-But… This is a graveyard… Are we going to be okay?"

"We'll be fine." Noh tried to calm her. Yuzu sighed but took the words to heart.

"Y-Yeah… I don't think I can go far anyways…My legs are like jelly…"

Atsuro looked around before sitting on the ground.

"We don't have a choice. Let's take turns keeping a lookout…Ugh…I've never wanted it to be morning so hard in my life!"

* * *

They all laid on the ground. Yuzu laid unmoving on the ground trying to sleep. While Atsuro and Noh leaned their back against each other for support as they sat both with COMPs out.

Atsuro was testing the email function and sent Noh an email. Noh asked Atsuro to teach Yuzu too while he looked to see a mail from Naoya. The first told him a bit about the Laplace mail. The second one was more causal though. Asking him if he was hurt and how he has been doing. Noh smiled missing the simple conversations they would carry on and how they worried over each other's well being.

After sending a reply, he looked to see that Yuzu had finally fell asleep and that Atsuro was currently handling look out. After whispering to Atsuro to wake him up when it's his turn, he yawned and leaned over on Atsuro's should as a pillow before falling asleep.

Atsuro smiled at Noh before looking at the dark sky waiting for the dawn.


	2. What could go wrong

Sorry, this would have been up sooner but i got distracted by many thingswhen it was almost finished. Cough cough ._. Harry Potter being one of the main distractions (was nerd spazzing with my besties ^ ^;;;) anyways i would have put the whole first day but i already hit 18 pages so i descided to stop. Thank you **putu** and **Kami** for the reviews, I'm really happy that some ppl are finding some joy in this. Trying hard to find random places for Naoya to pop up randomly seeing that the most interaction with him is on the 6th and 7th day... which i personally think we should of had more Naoya love in the game. Still a bit slow for now... things don't raelly kick up until like day 3 or 4 for what i'm planning. Tho i do promise a future hilrious chapter including our Trio and Gin's bar which should be soon i think. Okay enough of me ranting. Disclaimer from first chapter still applies.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – **1st Day…What could go wrong?

Yuzu yawned and noticed Atsuro and Noh were already up chatting.

"Oh, morning Noh. Did you get some sleep…?"

"That girl was right. Some demon-looking things passed by, but they didn't notice us." Atsuro said happily.

Yuzu looked down still wanting to get of the area.

"Yeah… I saw 'em too. B-But now that the sun's out, we can get out of here, right!?"

Noh patted her head comforting.

"We'll be all right."

Yuzu smiled instantly.

"Cool! I'm glad I didn't have to spend the night alone thought. It was pretty freaky."

Atsuro laughed off the experience putting a friendly arm around Noh.

"Hahaha, yeah. I hope that's the last time I ever have to sleep in a cemetery!" But he soon looked worried.

"But the lights never came back on…Hard to tell in daylight, but there's still a blackout."

"Yeah…I still don't have any cell reception. So…none of that was a dream." Yuzu looked down at her cell.

The COMPs let out their email signal getting the trios attention.

"Huh, that was the COMP's email beep. Wonder who it's from…" Atsuro wondered. Yuzu looked at it shakily.

"G-Guess we should read it…"

There was another Laplace mail. Noh worried about the bit about three victims murdered by a snowman and that the 'HaVE a nICE daY' looked kinda funky.

Naoya had also sent an email explain the numbers above their heads, the Death Clock.

Atsuro freaked out with Yuzu.

"A-A death clock…!? What's up with that!? So we can see how long people have left to live?"

Yuzu looked over to Noh real fast.

"Hey, Noh… Didn't you say before that you could see a number over our heads…?"

"Yeah, I did." He slowly answered.

"Well…? What was it? Hey! How many days do I have!?"

Atsuro looked at Noh with a gloomy face.

"…It's 0, isn't it? Yesterday, you said… The number was 1. Which means… our number right now… it's 0, isn't it?"

Noh looked away sadly.

"That's right."

"Ha… Haha… Oh man… I'm gonna die today?" Atsuro laughed bitterly. Yuzu didn't want to hear this.

"That's it. I've had enough! This conversation is over! C'mon, let's go. This is all some big hoax… Let's hurry back home!"

Noh looked over at her.

"The trains don't work."

"……! Wh-What do you mean!?"

Yuzu looked ready to pounce on poor Noh which worried Atsuro so he stepped in.

"Calm down, Yoohoo. I checked the other email. Don't you remember what it said? 'All stations are locked down.' If that's true, we won't be able to use the trains."

"B-But…! How can we know for sure unless we go? The email might be wrong about that!" She tried to reason.

"Let's go to the station." Was Noh's simple replay, plus then they can see if it was running or not. Atsuro gathered his bag.

"Yeah, I'm with you. No sense in griping about it here. Let's check the nearest station!"

"God, please let Shibuya Station be open…!" Yuzu prayed.

After leaving the cemetery and emerging in Omotesando, Yuzu suddenly stops.

"Hey, you guys! Look…!" She pointed over to the street.

The road is littered with ruined cars. Other vehicles seem to have been abandoned.

"What the hell…? What happened here?" Atsuro looked at the cars in shock.

"What a mess…Did all this happen just because we had a blackout for one night?" Yuzu wondered as see continued to look.

"It wasn't the blackout…" Noh assessed looking more closely at the damage.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Atsuro decided to explain seeing that Noh doesn't talk much to begin with.

"Headlights aren't hooked up to the power grid. Accidents this bad wouldn't have happened…"

"Then…it really is because demons are in Tokyo…?"

"There's no proof, but that'd be my guess. Let's hurry… We're almost to Shibuya."

* * *

The streets to Miyamasuzuka are choked with crowds. No one can get near Shibuya Station. You can see Self-Defense Force vehicles and a barricade past the crowd.

"Poison gas has leaked! This area is dangerous! Please stay away from Shibuya Station! All lines, including private rails, are affected. Remain calm until the problem is solved! Police blockades are in effect throughout the Yamanote line, including overpasses." Announced a SDF Officer.

Many of the people were complaining to the soldier about the situation.

"The cause is currently under investigation. Until then, please obey out instructions! To ensure everyone's safety, we ask for your understanding and cooperation! We're also looking into the explosion that occurred in Aoyama Cemetery last night. If you have any information, please inform a disaster relief worker immediately!"

The angry mob slowly quiets down upon hearing the SDF officer's repeated message. Eventually, the gathered crowd begins to disperse, as if they are giving up.

"Damn… not only aren't the trains working, we can't even get near the station…!" Atsuro paled a bit.

"Was that stuff about the gas leak true? You think this is because of the demons, too…?" Yuzu asked.

Noh was wondering if the poison gas was really true or was just a cover up. This all just felt off.

"I don't think so."

"I agree…" Atsuro eyed the SDF soldier.

"Huh?" Yuzu just looked at the two.

"You think they put up all these barricades and blocked in the entire area overnight? No… it looks to me like all this was prepared way in advance…"

"W-Wait, you mean…?"

"Yeah… There's something else going on here that we don't know about. Damn… Everything that email said is coming true. At this rate, we're gonna…!" Atsuro bit his lip thinking back on how they all were gonna die today. Noh stayed calm and remembered the email Naoya sent on the death clocks.

"Let's raise the number."

"You mean change how long we have on the death clock…?" Yuzu perked up.

"Good idea, Noh! Naoya's email said the number changes based on what we do! So let's do something about all this! That Laplace Mail stuff about not escaping the Yamanote area and us going to die today…Let's prove it wrong!"

Atsuro laughed a bit and looked to Noh.

"Haha…I'm surprised to hear that from you, Noh. The death clock and the Laplace Mails do run on the same predictive algorithm… Which means the death clock uses what the Laplace Mail says to calculate a number. Its probability ratio is pretty high… The underlying process must be real complicated."

Yuzu's head was internally swirling at Atsuro's talking.

"H-Hey, slow down, whiz kid. You're getting a little ahead of us non-eggheads…"

"Oh, sorry. It's an important point, thought, so listen…With an algorithm this complex, one mistake could cause a very large error. Which means… if we make sure the thing the Laplace Mail predicts don't come true… Its predictions become useless, affecting the death clock's readout!"

Yuzu looked at Atsuro in understanding.

"Does that mean… We don't have to die today?"

"Seems that way." Noh answered. This brought a happy smile to Yuzu's face.

"So we have a chance!"

"It's not certain that the results will be thrown off, mind you…" Atsuro butted in.

"But it's probably safe to assume that we can change the outcome."

Yuzu still wondered.

"Uh… Is this really possible?"

"Haha, what's the matter, Yoohoo? This was your idea." Atsuro teased.

"Huh? But…I don't know all that stuff you were talking about…!"

"Haha, there's the Yoohoo we know. Don't sweat it, okay? Alright! Let's do whatever we can to find a way out of this lockdown! As long as we prevent what's predicted in those emails, we can beat the death clock!"

Yuzu looked pumped.

"Yeah! C'mon, let's go! Even if the area inside the Yamanote line is locked down there must be a secret exit!"

"Right! But we'll have to be careful of the police and the Self-Defense Force…" Atsuro reminded.

"Huh? Why..?" Yuzu asked confused.

"We were at the cemetery." Noh repeated.

"He's right. The ADF guy at the station said they were looking into the explosion. If they happen to detain us, they might take away our COMPs…"

"Oh yeah…Okay, then. We'll be extra careful." Yuzu grinned.

Noh looked at his comp to see that it was saying something.

'_When the COMP detects demons the word BATTLE will appear in the location list to warn you. Most battles cannot be avoided, but you can flee from some during the battle.'_

Noh just stared at the COMP. At least this time it wasn't during a battle. Nice to know that the COMP was useful to detect demons.

Still at the station, the suddenly heard people yelling. Some punks were arguing with the SDF soldiers. It was easy to see that conversation was going nowhere. A guy with brown hair came over there looking a bit pissed.

"Quit yappin' like a dog and shut your cake hole."

"Huh!? Who the hell said--…! K-Kaido…!? I-I'm sorry, man!" The Punk ran away scared.

"…Hmph." Kaido looked at the running punk uncaring. Atsuro seemed to recognize the name.

"Kaido…? Like, Kaido of the Shibuya Daemons…?"

Yuzu looked at him curiously.

"You know him, Atsuro…? Ugh…more 'daemons'. That's the absolute last thing I want to hear about now…"

Atsuro laughed at her a bit.

"C'mon, Yoohoo. They're not quite the same thing. A daemon is a guardian spirit. The Shibuya Daemons are one of the more charismatic punk gangs. Kaido's their leader. They're really famous in Shibuya."

Noh perked up a bit.

"Think he's seen Naoya?" Seeing this as a chance to maybe find his Cousin again. Yuzu seemed to notice this too.

"I get it…Even if he doesn't know, maybe one of his flunkies will!"

Atsuro nodded with the idea.

"Kaido IS known for treating his people well… Yeah, let's go talk to him!"

They quickly walked over to Kaido before he could go.

"Huh? Who're you guys?"

"I'm Noh. And these are my friends Atsuro and Yuzu."

"Cool. I'm Kaido. You guys need somethin'?"

"Do you know Naoya?" Noh asked politely. Kaido just looked a little confused.

"Huh? Naoya? Who's he?" Atsuro decided to explain.

"He's Noh's cousin. We don't know where he is…"

Kaido looked back over to Noh who looked at him with hopeful eyes. He couldn't really deny his cute face.

"Well… Things are pretty bad around here, so I'll help you look. Got a photo or anything?"

Noh just nodded while pulling out his cell phone and showed him his picture of Naoya.

"This is the guy, huh…? Send me the pic over IR." Kaido looked back at the picture. Something just seemed odd about this guy but he said nothing.

"Cool, got it. Alright, once the cells come back on, I'll spread it around my crew. That all you wanted?"

Noh shook his head.

"Is there a secret exit?" He asked innocently about if there were any secret exits from the Yamanote circle area.

"If I did, I'da used it already. We're havin' trouble gettin' through the central ward."

Atsuro sighed.

"I had a feeling you'd say that…"

"Everyone's in the same boat here… If that's all, I'm gonna get going."

Noh smiled and waved.

"Goodbye."

Kaido inwardly blushed.

"Alright, be seein' ya."

Atsuro looked over to Noh seriously.

"How'd it go, Noh? Were you able to see what the death clock said about Kaido?"

"It was 6."

Yuzu looked surprised.

"Six days? I-It was that short? That means he has less than a week, right…!?"

"Don't be ridiculous, it was just a coincidence. Six days is better than our time…" Atsuro reminded.

"Y-Yeah, but…"

Atsuro felt guilty for reminding her.

"Sorry…Didn't mean to bring you down like that. C'mon, let's get going! We'll find a way out and change our fate!"

"Y-Yeah…! Let's go, Noh!"

Upon leaving the station their COMPs email alerts rang. One from Naoya talking about a new function and one explaining the Devil Auction.

"A Devil Auction…!? Wh-What is this? What's going on!?"

Noh just looked at her blankly.

"Demons selling themselves."

Atsuro looked up from his COMP.

"…It looks that way. One thing's for sure…Demons have been on this world for a long time, and some people have known about them."

"H-How can you be so sure?" Yuzu asked shakily.

"Think about it. For an auction to exist, you need someone to run it and you need someone to buy from it. If there are other bidders than just us, then the auction has been around since before then."

"Uh-huh…Okay, I get it. Still… It's kind of a shock. We were living here but we knew nothing at all…"

Noh looked through the auction and came with an idea.

"This is an opportunity." Atsuro glanced at him.

"An opportunity…? Yeah, I get it."

Yuzu glared at them.

"Well, I don't get it! I don't get anything!"

"Oh, sorry. Well, there's a chance we might die today… And considering what's happening, it would probably be because of a demon."

"Ugh…" Yuzu turned away just thinking about it.

"…But if we can use this website to get powerful demons as allies, we can fight back! In other words, our chances of surviving will go up!"

"So you're saying that we have to get demons so we can fight even more demons? I've had enough of this! Why'd we have to fight!?"

Noh can understand that Yuzu didn't want to be in this situation but it's not like they have a choice. The best they could do at the moment is to keep going.

"We have to live!"

Yuzu looked at her feet defeated.

"Urgh… That's true, but… Let's try to avoid as much of this bad stuff as we can, huh?"

Atsuro closed his COMP.

"Yeah… If we can escape, that would be the best option. But if there's ever something we can't run from… We'll have to make up our minds…"

Noh tilted his head at Atsuro.

"Make up our minds?"

"What else? We'll have to use this auction and do everything we can to help us fight…"

Noh just stared at him.

"I thought that was a given. I already bought me an Ogre."

Yuzu and Atsuro gaped at him.

"What… Its stats were pretty good…And there's an extra space on my team."

"How can you accept this so easily?!" Yuzu questioned.

"How can I not. This is for our survival and I trust Naoya. He is helping us a lot."

Walking through Shibuya Noh's COMP gave a low beep. On his screen showed free battle at their location. Yuzu huffed.

"Geez, more demons."

Atsuro just sighed. They didn't look so hard so maybe they could get some more EXP and Macca.

"Well, we can't just leave them here. Let's take them out."

Upon summoning their demons, they noticed how big the Ogre was compared to Noh. It stared at Yuzu and Atsuro.

They stared back.

Noh was oblivious as Yuzu's Pixie glomped him cause a fight with his Kobold.

For some reason the Ogre felt like some mixed presence of Mafia and Butcher. It terrified the enemy demons in the area bulldozing through them with its' big ass knife.

This would take some time to get used to.

* * *

They made their way to Miyashita Park to break.

"Hey Atsuro, how do you know so much about tech stuff?" Yuzu asked.

"Hm? Didn't I tell you before? Both my parents are engineers. They work in Silicon Valley. They always ask me if I want to come along, but I never do… My English is too bad. But I've played with computers since I was little. It's like I grew up in the net. My parents weren't around and my friends had cram school, so net friends were all I had…"

Noh looked at him thoughtfully.

"Was that fun?"

"Fun or not, it's all I had. Though… it was fun… Even a grade school kid like me was on equal footing with adults, you know? I guess that's the upside of being anonymous… most of the people I knew were adult. It was great back then… not as convenient as now, sure, but nothing bad happened."

They finished their break and moved through Ebisu to look at the Yamanote line. The area near Ebisu station had also been blocked off. Yuzu looked over them shocked.

"Huh!? We can't go through here either!?"

"Sorry, Miss. There's been an outbreak of poisonous gas. Please step back." An SDF soldier apologized before stepping back into line.

Noh saw that the SDF members don't have death clocks. It seems they'll live longer than 10 days.

"Damn it… There really are troops along all the railroads! We might die today, too… Damn it!" Atsuro cursed.

"If only our cellphones worked, I could call my mom and tell her that I can't come home…" Yuzu was then stuck with an idea from her own words.

"Oh! That reminds me! The COMPs' email works, right? Can't we contact the outside?"

Atsuro brightened.

"Hey! I'll give it a try!" He brought out his COMP and started typing.

Noh in the mean time moved closer to the line and just stared at the soldier in front of him.

"…If this works, I'll send an email to my COMP at home…"

Noh's intense stare was starting to freak out the soldier and the other ones around him but they tried to keep a straight face.

"…Huh?"

Yuzu looked over Atsuro.

"What's wrong?"

"'Cannot connect to the specified server.' … That's what it says."

"It's not connecting… What's that mean?"

"Well, Naoya made this COMP to begin with… Maybe it can't use standard connection to communicate with regular COMPs."

Noh tilted his head cutely and continued his staring. The Soldiers were sweating and slowly giving into his cuteness. Noh wondered f they actually would though.

"So… it didn't work? All right, let's go check out someplace else…"

Atsuro closed his COMP and stashed it into his bag.

"…Hmm. Let's see if there's anything else going on… hold on… what is Noh doing?"

Yuzu followed Atsuro's gaze at Noh who seemed to be intimidating the SDF?

"He looks like he's using his cuteness seduction." Yuzu stated matter-of-factly. He just gave her a weird look.

"Okay… do I want to know?"

"He uses it rarely nowadays but back when we were young it was how we got a lot of free stuff."

The Soldiers seemed to be shaking as Noh brought a hand to hair. This was beginning to be too much for them to handle. Noh wondered why it wasn't working as well but he wouldn't know it was working too well. He gave an adorable pout before cutely turning to Yuzu.

"Yuzu-chan! Am I not that cute anymore?"

The innocence in his voice and his pose just blew down the Soldiers in front of him. Seven of them fell down from blood loss due to extreme nosebleeds. Upon hearing the thumps he turned back to the destruction he cause.

"I guess not."

Atsuro gaped at the scene while Yuzu laughed.

"See now?"

"Yes… Yes I do."

* * *

While in Omotesando, Yuzu sighed.

"Man… Omotesando… I could never have imagined something like this when I came out here yesterday. Hey, look…!"

A man came over noticing Yuzu.

"Hm…? Is that Yuzu? You used to go to Haru's shows, didn't you?"

Yuzu smiled happily.

"Yes, I'm Yuzu Tanikawa. I'm surprised you remember me, Gin!"

"Heh. A man in my line of work has to have a good memory for names and faces." He grinned.

"Ahaha! Sounds like a tough job! Oh, um…"

Noh looked between the two.

"You know each other?"

"Oh, there's this indie singer I really like named Haru. Gin's kind of Haru's guardian. I met him at a show, and we've spoken a couple times since. Gin always watches out for people, so everyone tends to consider him a big brother."

Gin just laughed.

"You flatter me, Yuzu. So are these two your friends? We haven't met, right?"

"Oh, sorry! Feel free to introduce yourselves, guys."

Atsuro stuck out his hand and grinned.

"I'm Atsuro Kihara. Nice to meet you."

Gin shook it friendly.

Noh bowed politely.

"I'm Noh Takaya."

"The name's Eiji, but everyone calls me Gin. I run a bar over that way. I'm in a real fix. Everything from the ice to the fruits in the fridge are wiped out. Well, no sense crying over spoiled milk. Just gotta wait for the power to come back." Gin looked over the Trio.

"You been here long? Bet you've been out since the Blackout…Heh. What a sorry situation. Hurry home and let your folks know you're safe, okay?"

Yuzu looked sad at the mention. "Uh, about that…"

She explained to Gin what they saw at Shibuya Station.

"What? The station's locked down and no one's getting through? Are you pulling my leg…? Hm…the bar TV's busted and my cell's dead, too. Looks like we're all in the dark…Man…What's going on?"

Yuzu looked at him surprised.

"Your cell doesn't work either!? That's been a huge problem for us, too! Well…Sitting here won't get us home, so we're thinking of looking for a way out."

"Sounds like a big deal. But if the government's on the job this should blow over soon."

Yuzu looked down.

"I hope you're right…"

Gin patted her head comfortingly.

"Just you watch, it'll be over by nightfall. I'm going to go catch some Zs at the bar…If you need help with anything just give me a holler."

"Okay! Thanks a ton, Gin!" She smiled.

Behind them Noh and Atsuro were talking.

"Hey, Noh…What did the death clock say about Gin?"

"It said 6."

Yuzu joined in their conversation after Gin left.

"6!? Why!? I-Is Gin going to die in six days…!? But this is…This is insane!"

"I see…I hoped if we stayed close to people with high numbers, we'd have better odds of survival."

"I get it…People without a number are likely to live for a while. They might help us."

Noh wondered if that would actually help seeing that that could lower the person's own time.

"You think so?"

"We can't know for sure, but we should do everything we can to increase our odds of survival!"

Continuing their way to Shinjuku the Yamanote line was blocked there too.

Noh sighed but got up from where he was sitting.

"Let's not give up yet."

Atsuro smiled.

"No argument here." His expression changed as he saw something in the distance.

"Huh…? Is that Keisuke?"

Said person looked at Atsuro surprised.

"What the…Atsuro?"

"I thought I recognized you, Keisuke! Long time no see! Keisuke helped me out big time in middle school. I wouldn't be here without this guy!"

Keisuke blushed a bit.

"I-I wouldn't go that far… Atsuro! No, all of you! Your number…"

"Huh? Did you just say--!?"

Keisuke looked a bit panicked.

"N-Never mind! I have to get going!" He quickly moved away from the trio.

"What's up with him…?" Atsuro asked confused.

"He knew our number…" Noh replied looking back where Keisuke left.

Yuzu scrunched up her face in dislike.

"What? So that guy ran away because he saw the death clock said 0!? That's horrible…!"

"Wh-What're you talking about!? Only people with COMPs have access to the death clock!" Atsuro tried to argue.

"And Keisuke… Well, he's not that kind of guy."

"What makes you say that?"

"He always used to stand up for the weaker kids, so they really depended on him. He saved me a bunch of times, too… if not for him, I'd have been a gofer for three years."

"Weird… He seemed pretty shy himself just now."

"Yeah, I have no idea. I lost all contact with him after we got into high school…"

Atsuro then looked concernedly at Noh.

"By the way, Noh… Did you remember to check his death clock readout?"

Noh bit his lip.

"Yeah, it was 1."

"1…? Damn it! Keisuke's gonna die tomorrow, too!"

"Don't worry. After we survive today, we'll try to save him tomorrow." Noh attempted to comfort the distraught Atsuro.

"If we even survive today…"

"We will. I don't think something this small will stop us."

Near Roppongi they heard some commotion and decided to head over there.

"Hey, I heard there was gonna be a concert here today! It's so dull here. It'll be sweet!" a man near them discussed with his friend before running off.

You can see a crowd gathered on Roppongi Boulevard.

"Huh? Hey, I know that song…!" Yuzu instantly sprang up.

Over on the side of the street stood a female singer with shoulder length red hair in a white spaghetti strap dress.

"Sorry about the volume! I'm using a battery-powered amp. Blame it on the blackout! Here's hoping my songs get you all out of those Blackout Blues!" She said to the crowd who cheered.

"Omigosh, it's Haru! Awesome! This is just what I needed to cheer me up!" Yuzu cheered happily.

"Looks like I've got a fan in the crowd! I'm about warmed up now—so here's one for you!" Haru said before singing again.

Yuzu was so happy at the moment.

"This is so great! Haru is the best!"

Yuzu continues to cheer until the street performance ends.

"Of all the places to see a show from Haru…! That was so cool!"

Atsuro joined in with the giddy Yuzu.

"Her singing was pretty good, but is she that famous?"

"Yeah! Uh, in the indie scene. She's the same Haru I told you about earlier. She used to be in a band called D-Va, but now she's gone solo."

"Solo? What happened to D-Va?"

"I don't really know much about when she was in the band… I just heard they split up when Aya, one of their members, quit to study music."

"Huh… So her names's Haru? Well, I think you can count me as a fan too!"

Atsuro and Yuzu hi-fived.

"Me three!" Noh grinned.

"I know, right? Haru's so awesome!" Yuzu continued to gush while Atsuro laughed.

"Well, we've rested long enough. We don't have much time left…"

After Atsuro's comment, Noh remembered Haru's death clock.

"Yeah, we should be focused on surviving." Yuzu looked at Noh's concerned face. "Hm? What's the matter, Noh?"

"It said 0."

Yuzu went into instant serious mode.

"That's what the death clock readout on Haru was…!? We have to tell her!"

"Wait a sec, Yoohoo!" Atsuro stopped her before she could dash towards Haru.

"What now!?"

"What would you say? If you tell her straight up, she'll think you're crazy!"

Yuzu stopped struggling to get past Atsuro and sighed.

"Ugh… You're probably right."

"Don't forget, our number is 0 too. We might die today first. If we don't do something about that, how are we supposed to help anyone else?"

"Yeah… Good call. There's no use worrying about that until we have a solution to this whole mess."

"Right. C'mon, guys. Let's go…"

* * *

After a few free battles and demon auction bidding, they walked towards Shinjuku.

As Noh move forward, he saw someone resembling Naoya duck into a side street. Atsuro seemed to notice too.

"Hey, Noh! Wasn't that Naoya?"

Noh knew Naoya was a bastard lots of time and would purposely run from Noh when he wanted a hug so that he would have to work for it. This time was no different. And it doesn't help that Naoya cheats.

"Quick, after him!"

Atsuro saw Noh's determination with this and decided that he should let Noh run as fast he could after his prey.

"Gotcha!"

They chased the person down the side street until they momentarily lost sight of him.

"Hey! Where did Naoya go?" Atsuro searched.

Looking around Yuzu saw him near an alley.

"He's over there! I saw someone go over there, and it looked like Naoya!"

"Alright! Let's go after him!"

Before they could move forward, a horde of demons appeared around the whole area.

"What!? Why are there so many demons out in broad daylight!?" Yuzu did not want to fight them to say the least.

"Maybe they don't care what time of day it is…Well, whatever! We've gotta do something about them! What's the plan, Noh?" Atsuro turned to him noticing he wasn't there.

Noh had already summoned his demons and was running towards the alley that Naoya went down.

"I'll leave my demons as back up." He shouted to Atsuro and Yuzu before looking to his demons.

"Make sure my friends are okay!"

The Kobold and Ogre nodded before going into battle with the demons around them.

Atsuro shook his head while getting his COMP out. It was a Naoya – Noh thing… he could not question it.

Yuzu looked at Noh's back in disbelief before remembering Noh's weird relations with Naoya and letting it go. She turned to the first demon near her shaking a bit.

"I'm…I'm not scared… I have to keep telling myself that…" She whispered to herself before summoning her demons and attacking.

"I have to calm down… Remember what happened yesterday…" Atsuro muttered before attacking himself.

After taking out some of the mob, more demons started to appear.

"Huh!? They're multiplying! Why are there so many demons!?" Atsuro troubled.

They continued to fight until all the demons were defeated.

"A-Alright…! We did it…" Atsuro cheered.

Meanwhile in the Alley

Noh franticly chased Naoya's form down the dark path. He could practically hear his laugher taunting him. Knowing he won't catch up.

It was a dead end.

Noh panted, trying to catch his breath. He never was much one for physical endurance, was half the reason why he mostly puts his points in magic.

"Naoya…you have some…explaining to do." Noh set his eyes on Naoya who just smirked at him.

"Now's not really the time for it… so I'll have to decline on that request."

He made a movement showing he was going to leave and Noh noticed. He quickly moved and tried to dive at him only to have his wrists caught and his body trapped against the wall by Naoya.

Noh puffed his checks at him.

"I hate it when you use your height and strength against me… I find that unfair."

Naoya just gave him an evil smile.

"I can't make everything easy for you. Just wait for when the time is right. Well then I think I hear your friends coming so I'll take my leave."

He pecked Noh on the forehead and released him.

"…Still hate you at the moment…you better email me later."

"Well you seemed to be getting better with the COMP. Don't worry though, I will explain in a few days so just keep surviving until then."

Naoya took out his own COMP to summon a flying demon and headed off.

"This won't stop me from chasing you! You know that right! You haven't talked to me for a month and I'm worried!" Noh shouted at Naoya who just waved his arm to signal he heard him then disappeared from sight.

Noh trudged backed to his friends and returned his demons to the COMP.

"Guess we lost him?" Atsuro asked.

Noh nodded.

"Why'd the demons start showing up? What's with that crazy auction? The questions keep piling up. We have to find him…"

Yuzu turned her head angrily.

"I'd like to give him a piece of my mind, too! It's his fault we're in trouble!"

Noh didn't really like Yuzu's accusations toward Naoya.

"I'd rather find an exit."

Yuzu calmed down.

"Oh yeah… That might be a better plan."

"I agree. If we don't make it out alive, I'll be missing out on all my favorite net forums!" Atsuro added.

Yuzu sighed.

"I guess everyone lives for something…"

"D-Don't give me that look… Hey Noh, does the death clock still say 0? It hasn't gone up, has it…?" He asked changing the subject.

"No, it's still 0."

"I had a feeling you'd say that… We can't find a way out, the death clock's stuck on 0, and the hours march on… Damn it! What're we supposed to do!?"

Suddenly the COMP email alerts rang.

"Hm? We've got mail…"

Noh then remember the COMP saying something while he was running after Naoya.

"About the Macca Bonus?"

"Oh yeah… Something like that came up on the COMP, didn't it?"

They looked through the 2 emails. One explained Macca Bonus and the other about Skill Set Bonus.

"So something called a Skill Set Bonus has been added on top of the Macca Bonus…" Atsuro pondered.

"It's more to worry about in battle, but if we play our cards right, it could pay off."

Noh nodded while Yuzu looked at them.

"This is such a guy thing… You better not do anything risky going after this stuff! Y'know, it just occurred to me… who's sending these emails?"

Noh knew that these particular emails were probably program made.

"I'm not sure."

"Yeah, me neither… it doesn't sound at all like Naoya."

"Naoya might not have written them, but the wording and such should be based on his." Atsuro explained.

"Like robots with AI personalities… Their code is still written by humans. These advice emails might be generated by a program that Naoya created. Like, when you write software for general use, you gotta leave documentation. The emails are so impersonal because they're general documentation… Which means this Demon Summoning Program was always meant for third-party use."

"I see…" Noh said while processing the info.

"As long as Naoya didn't program the manual with false info, we can trust what it says."

They went to check the Yamanote line in Ikebukuro and walked on Sunset Street.

"This place is no good either. There were SDF guards all the way to Ikebukuro…" Yuzu sighed.

"I'm exhausted from all this walking… I can feel the sweat pooling in my shoes."

"Better sweaty than dead." Atsuro said without thinking. Yuzu looked at him slightly angry.

"What the…!? You don't have to say it like that!"

"…Sorry. I'm getting a little nervous…" He said guiltily.

"It's okay. I'm sorry I snapped back. Let's decide what we're going to do from here."

"Yeah, good idea."

Yuzu looked back at the line.

"Hey… Are we really trapped in the Yamanote circle area? Are we going to die just like that email said…?"

"We'll try the east side." Noh said trying to change the subject.

"Yeah… The west side might be sealed, but there's still the east. Let's keep at it!" Atsuro said encouragingly.

The COMPs email alert went off.

"Incoming email… Let's have a look."

It was an email from Naoya. He gave them another new feature to help them. The email other explained how to use the Skill crack function.

"I really don't get what Naoya's up to." Yuzu sighed. "He got us into this mess, but he's still doing everything he can to help us…"

Atsuro closed his COMP.

"You got that right… If he cares that much, he shoulda made sure we weren't in the lockdown to begin with."

"He's hiding something…" Noh replied. This is Naoya…when doesn't he hide something, but whatever it may be he has reasons.

"Yeah, that's for sure." Yuzu agreed.

"Either he can't tell us or the time's not right yet. No way for us to know…" Atsuro pondered.

"Yeah…"

"Hey, those Skill things come in pretty handy, don't they? If that function can get us more of those, that'll be a huge help! It might even increase our chances of survival…!"

Yuzu looked at Atsuro.

"That Skill Crack thing? Only someone who knew about demons could program that in… I wonder just how much Naoya knows about demons."

"Let's ask him ourselves." Noh suggested thought he fully knew that Naoya would make them play some game before getting some actual answers from him.

"Yeah, I guess that'd be the best way, huh?"

Atsuro nodded.

"Yeah… Let's find Naoya. We need to get information straight from the source."

"Though we have to do something about the number on the death clock first…"

"Yeah, we'll have to use every trick in the book to survive that long…"


End file.
